How
can one sustain motivation during the course of the entire program?
Here are a few ideas for you to help maintain your initial motivation
for successfully completing the online course.

Goals

Set
your goals firm and clear by writing down and reviewing them
periodically. Make sure you keep both your long-term and short-term
goals in mind. The short–term ones can be your weekly or daily
objectives related to the program.

The
long-term goals are related to finishing the course or the online
degree program. It is normal for interruptions to happen every now and
then, warranting adjustments. Consider the interruptions as challenges
and modify schedules as warranted.

Organization

Staying
organized is of great help and strength. Ensure that you create
schedules for weekly and daily tasks. In case you are juggling demands
of family, work, and school, you can plan fun activities combined with
school and work tasks. Healthy breaks for relaxation and fun are bound
to be rejuvenating and strengthening your motivation for learning.

Challenges

Recognize
your challenges and address them squarely. Failure to meet challenges
immediately may create a snowball effect. For instance, say you default
an assignment a week, and the following week you need to complete two.
If you fail to clear them both, you find a third one added up next, then
another and so on until you are completely overwhelmed by an
unmanageable number due.

When
challenges start to build up, you may feel like quitting as your grades
fall or you feel like losing the race in a class. Being proactive and
seeking prompt help whenever you fall behind is the best way to avoid a
backlog and diffuse a crisis build-up.

If
you are constantly rushing to finish your work, then maybe it is time
to reset plans and goals to a more ‘achievable’ and realistic level.
Meeting challenges successfully and achieving goals promptly would
certainly help maintain motivation and boost confidence level.

Support groups

You
can receive loads of help from support groups; they may be colleagues,
family, and fellow students. It would be good for you to discuss
regularly challenges, shared problems and successes with your support
group; it gives you a sense of strength, confidence, well-being and
control of things. Supportive friends can always give you new ideas to
meet all challenges.

Communication

It
is important for you to communicate with instructors and classmates.
Learning online does not mean you have to do it all alone. A live
communication channel keeps you abreast of deadlines and schedules and
makes learning fun. You may continue to communicate even after the
completion of the course.